Oil burner



OIL BURNER Filed March 2, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 3, 1940. A, R QTT2,224,089"

OIL BURNER Filed March 2, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 3, 1940UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in oil burners and moreparticularly to wickl'ess type oil burners such as are used for generalheating of agricultural buildings, poultry houses, tobacco barns,garages, etc.

The invention has for its general objects: to provide a low cost, moreefiicient burner which will permit less carbonization in the oilsupplyline; toprovide control of primary and secondary air supplied tothe burner; to permit adjustment of the vaporizing area; to supplyimproved means for varying the amount of 'preheat of the oil so as toprovide more efficient burning of a wider range of fuel oils; to furnishair cooling and greater protection for the cleaning tube; to supplyimproved means whereby sufiicient carbon can be cleaned from vitalburner parts; to provide reasonable oil flow and va- 0 porizationwithout removing all of the carbon 40 which is beneficial to burneroperation; to furnish a burner having a cover which can be removedwithout disturbing the cleaning tube; to provide a burner withdirectional wings on the flame spreader so that the latter will help topreheat both the air and oil vapors; to provide unique means forpreheating both theprimary and secondary air supplies; and-also toprovide manually or automatically controlled air supply means.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view whichwill appear as. the description proceeds, the invention consists in thenovel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated intheaccompanying drawings,

and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diametrical verticalse ctional view of a stove provided withmy improvements and with parts broken away to facilitate illustration.

Fig. 2 is a transverse substantially horizontal sectional view taken ontheline 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig; 3 is a bottom plane view of the flame spreader.

Fig; 4 is a siderelevation of a modified. form of preheater or cleaningplate.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates the casing of a stove'which maybe of any suitable shape and supported by any suitable means.

Within the casing is a combustion chamber 6 and a secondary airpreheating chamber 1. The latter is formed'between the bottom 8 of thecasin and a false bottom 9. v V

A main burner member 9a.. is arranged in the central portion of thecasing and it is preferably 'the bottoms of the notches.

formed of a metal casting to provide a central bowl [0 which receivesthe oil through a pipe ll providedwith a control valve I2.

The upper end of the bowl forms an annular wall l3 having notches I4 inits upper end ar- 5- ranged between spaced upstanding posts I5.

5 An oscillatable combined preheating and scraping plate I6 is providedwith radially extending lugs ll whichextend through the notches I4. andrest on the horizontal surfaces 58 formed by fo As theplate I6 is ofless diameter than the internal diameter of the upperend of the bowl, itwill be understood that oil from the bowl can overflow through thenotches. Furthermore; as the lugs ll are of less 15.

Width than the notches, it will be understood that if the plate [6 isoscillated in a manner hereinafter described, the lugswill act to scrapeor clean the surfaces 18. l

. The upper end'of the mate It may be bi- 2o.

furcated and the fork may be spanned by a pin l9-to permit a tool to beinserted for use in removing the plate IB.

A flame spreader 2O cooperates with the parts previously described andsuch spreader may con- 2-5. sist of an annular casting forming a disc 2ihaving a depending annular skirt 22. .Externally of the skirt, the flamespreader is provided with a number of spaced outside legs 23, preferablyfour in number, and the lower edges of these legs 30,

are rabbeted at 24 and the rabbeted portions rest on the upper edge ofthe outer wall 25 of an annular trough 25 that surrounds the bowl It.The

edge of said wall is preferably arranged below the surfaces It; At thispoint it will benoted that 35; if the flame spreader is oscillated aboutits vertical axis, the rabbeted portions 24 will function to scrapespaced portions 'of the upper edge of the wall 25 but will allow carbonto remain on portions of such edge between said spaced por- 40 tions. Itwill also beobserved that if the flame spreader is oscillated, its legs23 will contact with the lugs H of the plate IE to cause oscillationofthe latter. I

Each leg 23 has an are shaped portion 21 45 (Figs. 2 and 3) and theseportions embrace the exterior of the bowl l0 and function to regulatethe amount of primary air used and. amount of primary vaporization andpreheating of the oil as will 'be explained later. 0

The flame spreader is also provided with shorter-internal legs 28 whichare positioned slightly above the upper ends of posts l5 and serve toscrape the upper ends of these parts when the flame spreader isoscillated. 55

A combined primary air preheating tube and flame spreader operatingmember 29 has its lower end secured to the flame spreader as shown at39. The upper end of the tube surrounds the depending annular flange ofa removable cover 3!, and the flange is detachably connected to the tubeby means of a notch and rod connection 32. Consequently the tube andflame spreader can be turned by use of the handles 33 of the cover andwhen desired the cover can be removed without disturbing the tube orflame spreader.

The main casting 9a forms an outside annular trough 34 which isconsiderably larger than the trough 26 and surrounds the latter, and theout-' er Wall 35 of the trough 34 is provided with openings or ports 35to allow secondary air to. flow from the preheating chamber 1 into thetrough 34.

An annular cover plate 31 closes the major portion of the upper end ofthe trough 34 but provides an annular throat 38 (Fig. 2) for the passageof the flame. i

The introduction of the secondary air. to the chamber Tis permitted byports 38a and also by ports 39 and Min the bottom of the casing. Ports39 and 40 are controlled respectively by anysuitable means, such asrotatable dampers 4| and 42. .The damper 42 may be manually controlled,and the damper'l may be controlled by means of asuitable thermostat 43arranged exteriorly of the casing of the stove.

The secondary air entering through the ports 38a is directed upwardly bya bafiie 3% arranged in the chamber 1 so that it is caused to sweepalong the hot bottom 8 of the casing before entering the trough 34.

In operation it will be understood that primary air is supplied throughthe preheating tube 29 and secondary air through the ports 38a, .39'and40.. The, oil enters through the bowl H] which forms a preheat zonedueto the presence of the plate l6 and it will be noted that the bottomsurface of the latter is provided with an. insulating. cavity 44 so thatthe center portion of the plate is raised above the oil level. With thisdesign, the highly preheated air entering through tube 29 will bedeflected into the combustion area and will preheat the oil only a smalldegree and consequently carbonization will be materially reduced in theoil intake lines. When heavier grades of fuel oil are burned, the plateI6 is" preferably provided'with a depending bone 45 as shown in Fig.4,'and" this cone will extend into the bowl Ill so that a considerableamount of heated metal is submerged in the oil to cause a considerabletransfer of heat from the primary air into the oil below the preheater.

The oil flows from the'bowl' over the surfaces l8 and downwardlybetween'the legs 23' of the flame spreader into the "circular oil ringor trough ZB where further quantities are vaporized. As before stated,the amount of preheated primary air meeting oil above the trough 25 maybe regulated by turning-theftube 29 By such means, lower adjustmentsofoil flow which means a lower stoveftemperature, will provideadditional vaporization, withyless air, while in reversing the operationwith a higher oil flow and higher oil temperatures it. is better to,pro-' vide less vaporizing area and increased primary air supply.

vThe secondary air enters through the ports 38a, 39' and and isdirectedag'ainst the hot bottom 8 of the stovebefore' it enters thetrough or outer oil vaporizing ring 34. Thisair will not be providedover the entire area.

advantage of my burner is that through the use these'inlets can bestaggered to provide for more provide suflicient oxygen to supportcombustion which takes place in the area adjacent to the flame spreaderlegs 23 and is directed outwardly by the general curved contour MS ofthe undersurface of the disc 2!. This tends to provide a flame ofgreater diameter and to hold the flame in the lower portion of the stovedrum for greater efficiency.

Many burners in the general practice receive air through perforations inthe circumference of the burner, and because of mechanical construction,necessary uniform air conditions can One great uniform air, conditionsand much more readily eliminate inefficiency which results incarbonization, smoke, and unburned vapors.

Dueto the presence of the damper 42, the openings 49 can be regulatedmanually whenever the operator changes the temperature adjustment on theoil supply valve l2 which will greatlyincrease or decrease the oilsupply and the corresponding amount of air required. Means 39, Marc alsoprovided to automatically control the introduction of air so that whenthe temperature of the stove and corresponding air decreases, showinglower oil consumption, the air inlets 39 will automatically close andwhen the temperature of the stove and surrounding air becomes hotter,showing greater oil consumption, the auxiliary air holes 39 will beopened-to allow additional air and thereby increase "the efliciencyofcombustion.

In :reference to cleaning, it-will be observed that the plate lB-is toclean a portion of the carbon which may collect in the notches throughwhich the oil flows and to helpremove carbon which might restrict thearea between the legs 23 and the burner. A special feature of my designis that thiscleaner can only be oscillated and remove a portion of thecarbon. It cannot be rotated a complete revolution to remove all of thecarbon forming on these edges.

A further-improvement over existing designs isthat I provide moreefilcient air-cooled protection" for the means 29 @which actuates theflame spreader or 1 vaporizer-cleaner. Heretofore, to the best of nayknowledge, rods have generally been used for this purpose and they aresubject to direct interior temperatures of the-stoves and' it has beennecessary to provide additional metal protection for such rods. By usingthe air preheating tube, ,1 provide this protection in a more" efiicientand less expensive way, as the cooling air is also used to supportcombustion in the burner. v 7

Furthermore, in; the prior constructions, the cleaning rod. andcovermust be removed at the same time, whereas in my construction, theunits 29 and 3| -are detachably connected together so that the cover canbe removed and the condition of the interior of the stove may be morecarefully observed without disturbing the cleaner or other'parts'of theburner.

The herein described and illustrated embodimerits of Imy invention havegiven satisfactory results, and itwill be obvious to' those skilled inthe art that other changes and modifications may be'madewithoutdeparting from the spirit What I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member having acentral bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying oilto the bowl, a preheating plate having outwardly extending lugs of lesswidth than the notches, extending through the latter and resting on thebottoms of the notches, a trough surrounding the bowl and adaptedtoreceive oil overflowing from the bowl through said notches, and meansfor turning said plate and for scraping limited portions of the upperedge of the outer wall of said trough, said lugs cooperating with thenotches of the bowl to prevent the lastmentioned means from scrapingmore than limited portions of the upper edge of the outer wall of thetrough.

"2. ma burner of the character described, a

main burner member having a central bowl provided with a notched upperend, means for sup plying oil to the bowl, a preheating plate havingoutwardly extending lugs of less width than the notches, extendingthrough the latter and resting on the bottoms of the notches, a troughsurrounding the bowl and adapted to receive oil overflowing from thebowl through said notches, means for turning said plate and for scrapingportions of the upper edge of the outer wallof said'trough, said lugsbeing prevented by the notches from turning with the plate more than apredetermined degree and cooperating with the last-mentioned means toprevent said means from scraping more than limited portions of the upperedge of the outer wall of the trough, a heating chamber arrangedexternally of the trough and communicating with the latter, and meansfor supplying air to said chamber.

3. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member having acentral bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying oilto the bowl, a preheating plate having outwardly extending lugs of lesswidth than the notches, extending through the latter and resting on thebottom of the notches, inner and outer troughs surrounding the bowl, theinner trough being arranged to receive oil overflowing from the bowlthrough said notches, means for ing on the bottom of the notches, meansfor rotating said plate, the last-mentioned means comprising a flamespreader having legs engageable with said lugs.

5. In a burner of the character described, a

7 main burner member having a central bowl provided with a notched upperend, means for supplying oil to the bowl, a preheating plate havingoutwardly extending lugs of less width than the notches, extendingthrough the latter and resting on the bottom of the notches, means forrotating said plate, the last-mentioned means comprising an annularflame spreader forming a primary air inlet and provided with spaced legsadapted to contact with said lugs in order to turn the plate when theflame spreader is oscillated.

6. In aburner of the character described, a main burner member having acentral bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying oilto the bowl, a preheating plate having outwardly extending lugs of lesswidth than the notches, extending through the latter and resting on thebottom of' the notches, means for rotating said plate, thelast-mentioned means comprising an annular flame spreader provided withexternal legs having arc-shaped wings slidably engaging the outersurface of the bowl.

7'. In a burner of the character described, a mainburner member having acentral bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying oilto the bowl, a preheating plate having outwardly extending lugs of lesswidth than the notches, extending through the latter and resting on thebottom of the notches, means for rotating said plate, the last mentionedmeans comprising an annular flamespreader provided with internal legsarranged above the upper edge of the bowl and adapted to scrape theupper edges of said lugs.

8. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member having acentral bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying oilto the bowl, a preheating plate having outwardly extending lugs of lesswidth than the notches, extending through the latter and resting on thebottom of the notches, means for rotating said plate, the last mentionedmeans comprising a flame spreader formed of a disc having legsengageable with said lugs and having an upwardly and outwardly curvedundersurface arranged above the lugs.

9. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member having acentral bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying-oilto the bowl, a preheating plate having outwardly'extending lugs of lesswidth than the notches, extending through the latter and resting on thebottom of the notches, means for rotating said plate, the last mentionedmeans comprising an annular flame spreader forming a primary air inletand provided with internal and external legs, the internal legs beingarranged above the upper edges of the bowl, and the external legs beingarranged to abut against said lugs when the flame spreader is turned.

10. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member, anoscillatable plate slidably resting on the main burner member, means forsupplying oil to the main burner member at a point below said plate, aturn able flame spreader cooperating with the plate and adapted to turnthe latter, an air preheating tube projecting from the flame spreader,and a cover detachably connected to the tube and adapted to turn thetube and flame spreader when the cover is turned.

11. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member, anoscillata'ble plate slidably resting on the main burner member, meansfor supplying oil to the main burner member at a point below said plate,a turnable flame spreader cooperating with the plate and adapted to turnthe latter, an air preheating tube projecting from the flame spreader,and a cover detachably connected to the tube and adapted to turn thetube and flame spreader when the cover is turned, said plate having 2,depending portion extending downwardly into said bowl.

12. A burner of the character described, comprising a main burner memberforming a central bowl and inner and outer troughs which surround thebowl, means for'supplying oil to the bowl, the wall of the .bowl beingprovided with spaced notches to allow oil to overflow the bowl into. theinner trough, a turnable plate of less diameter than the internaldiameter of the upper end of the bowl and having outwardly extendinglugs of less width than the notches, slidably resting on the bottom ofthe notches, an annular flame spreader having legs slidably resting onthe outer wall of the inner trough, a primary air preheating tubeprojecting upwardly from the flame spreader and secured to the latter, acover plate for the outer trough forming an annular throat surroundingportions of the flame spreader, and means for supplying secondary air tothe outer trough.

13. A burner of the character described, comprising a main burner memberforming a central bowl and inner and outer troughs which surround thebowl, means for supplying oil to the bowl, the wall of the bowl beingprovided with spaced notches to allow oil to overflow the bowl into theinner trough, a turnable plate, of less diameter than the internaldiameter of the upper end of the bowl and having outwardly extendinglugs of less width than the notches, slidably resting on the bottom ofthe notches, an annular flame spreader having legs slid-ably resting onthe outer wall of the inner trough, a primary air preheating tubeprojecting upwardly from the flame spreader and secured to the latter, acover plate for the outer trough forming an annular throat surroundingportions of the flame spreader, means for supplying secondary air to theouter trough, and an annular cover plate de'tachably secured to theupper end portion of the primary air preheating tube.

14. A burner of the character described, comprising a main burner memberforming a central bowl and inner and outer troughs which surround thebowl, means for supplying oil to the bowl, the wall of the bowl beingprovided with spaced notches to allow oil to overflow the bowl into theinner trough, a turnable plate of less diameter than the internaldiameter of the upper end of the bowl and having outwardlyextending lugsof less width than the notches, slidably resting on the bottom of thenotches, an annular flame spreader having legs slidably resting on theupper edges of the bowl and outer wall of the inner trough, 'a primaryair preheating tube projecting upwardly from the flame spreader andsecured to the latter, an annular cover plate for the outer troughforming an annular throat surrounding portions of the name spreader,means for supplying secondary air to the outer trough, and arc-shapedwings forming part of the flamespreader and slidably engaging theexterior of the wall of the bowl.

15. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member havinga central bowl provided with a notched upper end, an oil ringsurrounding the bowl and having an outer wall, an annular flame spreaderarranged above the bowl and ring and having legs slidably resting onsaid wall, wings secured to the legs and cooperating with the notchestoregulate the amount of primary air flowing through the flame spreadertoward the oil ring, and means for supp1ying primary air to the flamespreader and for turning the latter.

16. In a burner of the character described, a main burner member havinga center bowl provided with a notched upper end, means for supplying oilto the bowl, a trough surrounding the bowl and having an outer wall, apreheating plate having outwardly extending lugs of less width than thenotches, extending through the latter and resting on the bottoms of thenotches, and means for turning the plate and for scraping limitedportions of the upper edge of said outer wall of the trough, saidnotches and lugs functioning to limit the turning movement of saidmeans.

ARTHUR P. SCOTT.

